Flying Car anyone?
MIT Press Release
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Counter-Intuitive
In End of Faith, page 183 :
When asked how thick a piece of newspaper would be if one could fold it upon itself one hundred times in succession, most of us imagine something about the size of a brick. A little arithmetic reveals, however, that such an object would be as thick as the known universe.
When asked how thick a piece of newspaper would be if one could fold it upon itself one hundred times in succession, most of us imagine something about the size of a brick. A little arithmetic reveals, however, that such an object would be as thick as the known universe.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Monday, February 23, 2009
Friday, February 20, 2009
The Future is Now!
This is probably not the first time this video has come around, but it is still worth watching nonetheless. Advanced magnetics have so much potential....so much imagined by speculative scientists and authors of fabulation.
Way too cool.
Monday, February 9, 2009
"Up the Universe" - Eint Truzenzuzex, Bran Tse-Mallory*
A TED Talk that examines quite a bit of our knowledge of cosmology, and the origins of the universe. There is a really nifty visual rendering of a tour through several galactic clusters at a virtual speed in the billions of lightyears/sec (Seen in the still-frame of the embedded video. Definitely worth taking a gander.
*Eint Truzenzuzex and Bran Tse-Mallory are fictional characters created by Alan Dean Foster in his "Continuing Adventures of Pip and Flinx" science-fiction novels.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Nostalgia
Saturday Mornings, in my P.J.'s watching "Land of the Lost".
I'll try not to let Will Farrell as the star bother me.
I'll try not to let Will Farrell as the star bother me.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Robots will Rule the World
The First Law of Robotics Stories: In the Future, Robots will rebell and a) Kill Us All; b) Enslave Us All; c) Protect Us All (from ourselves).
* Jack Williamson, in his short story "With Folded Hands" (1947) set the stage for robots stifling human expression in the future. This story predates Asimov's collection, "I, Robot" (1950) by a mere 3 years.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Coming soon to Calgary...
The Atheist Bus Ad is going to make its debut in the Chinook City.
I think this is a good thing. A symbol of freedom of speech, open social discussion, and non-discriminatory or censorial ad laws.
Some on the Calgary Herald website commentary are suggesting that they might not take transit anymore because of this. To me, this just seems over-reactionary and petty. It is interesting, however, to see the number of folks who's belief structure is so tender that a little difference of opinion leads to outcry.
Monday, January 26, 2009
100 Abandonded Houses....
A pictorial study of abandoned properties. No location specified for each picture:
....from Kevin Bauman Photography:
http://www.kevinbauman.com/100abandonedhouses/
Some of these have potential. I wonder if there will be a new trend for fix-er-uppers to buy interesting, but abandoned, architecture and restore these properties to their former glory?
....from Kevin Bauman Photography:
http://www.kevinbauman.com/100abandonedhouses/
Some of these have potential. I wonder if there will be a new trend for fix-er-uppers to buy interesting, but abandoned, architecture and restore these properties to their former glory?
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Quote for the Day: President Obama
"For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus - and non-believers."
Monday, January 12, 2009
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Stellar Nursery
The cluster of thousands of stars lies 20,000 light years from Earth in the Carina spiral arm of our galaxy. It is embedded in a star-forming nebula called NGC 3603, a cloud of gas and dust with enough material to form 400,000 stars like the Sun.
Previous measurements by Hubble and the Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile had come to the same conclusion for two of these star systems, indicating that the heaviest star involved is as massive as 114 Suns, which is at the borderline of what some theoretical models allow.
Very cool and interesting.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Quote for the Day: Ann Dillard
A Ugandan walked up to a christian missionary and asked: "If I didn't know about God, sin and Hell, would I go there?"
"Well, no, you couldn't", replied the missionary.
"Then why did you tell me about them?" asked the Ugandan.
Annie Dillard.
"Well, no, you couldn't", replied the missionary.
"Then why did you tell me about them?" asked the Ugandan.
Annie Dillard.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Dog: Man's best friend - for Eons?
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27240370/
World's first dog lived 31,700 years ago, ate big
Discovery could push back the date for the earliest dog by 17,700 years
Ancient, 26,000-year-old footprints made by a child and a dog at Chauvet Cave, France, support the pet notion. Torch wipes accompanying the prints indicate the child held a torch while navigating the dark corridors accompanied by a dog.And a related blog entry that asks whether Neanderthal extinction may have been related to a lack of dog-empathy.
http://sensuouscurmudgeon.wordpress.com/2008/11/23/why-are-the-neanderthals-extinct/
Why Are the Neanderthals Extinct?
23-November-2008 · 17 Comments
"This brings us to where we started this article — dogs! Our idea is that while humans formed an early and mutually beneficial relationship with dogs, the Neanderthals never did; and that is what made all the difference." -The Sensuous CurmudgeonAs a dog lover, of course I'm biased toward agreeing with this hypothesis. I won't say I do so without evidence, but it is certainly a charming notion (apart from the more squeamish thoughts of mutual survivability in times of starvation). I'm going to have to watch this Curmudgeon for a while. Maybe add him to my 'reader' list.
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